How a teacher greets students, takes care of logistics, and begins his or her lessons is CRUCIAL! During this observation, focus on how class begins. Where is your CT before class begins? What is he or she doing? Using the clock on the wall, determine when your CT establishes order and begins class. How did she/he start their lesson? How is homework from the previous night reviewed/collected/assessed? How does your CT engage students during the opening of the lesson? Is the approach your CT used during this lesson consistent with what you read in "Teach Like a Pirate."
Observation: I was observing Mrs. Zahm in her seventh grade science classroom at Gaudet Middle School. The first hour and a half or so of the day was reserved for NECAP testing so students were in the classroom working on those tests. After the testing, the schedule returned to normal with shortened classes. During the testing, Mrs. Zahm had me find a do-now activity for the students and make copies for the students for that day and the students the following day. Mrs. Zahm has two doors to her classroom and has established with her students that one door is for entering and one door is for exiting. Near the enterance door, she had the do-now styled activity for her students to complete in the first 5 minutes or so of class. She was walking around the classroom and getting things ready for the experiment that day and causally reminding students to complete the do now and that we would all go over it in a couple minutes. She gave the class about 5-7 minutes to complete the exercise then got the attention of everyone and put the exercise on the big screen. As a class, she went over the exercise asking different students to give the answers. Then she talked about how the do-now relates to the experiment they have have been doing in class. The students had no homework assignments due that day because of the NECAP testing.
Reflection: The opening activity was fun for the students. There was two pictures and they had to find the 10 differences between the pictures and circle them. It tied to the lesson because the students have been observing chemical reactions and shows how they have to look closely to see the difference between different reactions. The students seemed totally engaged and Mrs. Zahm would call on different students to have them call out the differences. My CT was consistent with Teach like a Pirate in terms of her enthusiasm and passion, but it was not the type of intro that would really WOW the students. Dave Burgess really puts emphasis on captivating your students and thoroughly engaging them in the lesson. The students were engaged however I am not sure if the students really understood why they did the warm up activity.
Observation: I was observing Mrs. Zahm in her seventh grade science classroom at Gaudet Middle School. The first hour and a half or so of the day was reserved for NECAP testing so students were in the classroom working on those tests. After the testing, the schedule returned to normal with shortened classes. During the testing, Mrs. Zahm had me find a do-now activity for the students and make copies for the students for that day and the students the following day. Mrs. Zahm has two doors to her classroom and has established with her students that one door is for entering and one door is for exiting. Near the enterance door, she had the do-now styled activity for her students to complete in the first 5 minutes or so of class. She was walking around the classroom and getting things ready for the experiment that day and causally reminding students to complete the do now and that we would all go over it in a couple minutes. She gave the class about 5-7 minutes to complete the exercise then got the attention of everyone and put the exercise on the big screen. As a class, she went over the exercise asking different students to give the answers. Then she talked about how the do-now relates to the experiment they have have been doing in class. The students had no homework assignments due that day because of the NECAP testing.
Reflection: The opening activity was fun for the students. There was two pictures and they had to find the 10 differences between the pictures and circle them. It tied to the lesson because the students have been observing chemical reactions and shows how they have to look closely to see the difference between different reactions. The students seemed totally engaged and Mrs. Zahm would call on different students to have them call out the differences. My CT was consistent with Teach like a Pirate in terms of her enthusiasm and passion, but it was not the type of intro that would really WOW the students. Dave Burgess really puts emphasis on captivating your students and thoroughly engaging them in the lesson. The students were engaged however I am not sure if the students really understood why they did the warm up activity.